Hello blog friends! I’ve been away for too long. You know…as we were busy with life and packing and travelling (Taiwan!) and moving/driving (11 hours!), I contemplated ‘quitting’ this blog. After all, doesn’t this hobby of writing about food and life take away from living life? My husband pointed out that hobbies do take time away from life. But, maybe it’s better to say that hobbies ARE part of life. I have also read about the importance of perseverance when authoring a blog, so I will continue to chug along.

As I think about the consistency of my blog and reflect back on major life events, it seems that the past 2 years have been filled with transition: got married to Mr. ABC Chef in December 2013, moved in September AND October 2014, (ugh, boo dishonest landlords) got a new job in June 2015, then now November 2015, here we are – we have not only moved apartments, but driven to a faraway place, 11 hours from where we have lived for the past 5-6 years. Sorry blog readers, for my strange and seemingly numerous absences….it’s kind of hard to blog when most of your stuff is in boxes or in a moving van!

With these moves, I’ve learned about the importance of feeling like there is a place to call home; whether it is a hotel to call home base while on vacation, an apartment that barely has a few pieces of furniture, or a warm and cozy house with rambunctious children running about, there is something unique about “going home”. We are hoping to buy a house to move to in the next year, so hopefully that will home for several years, or for as long as God allows.

Now that I am (f)unemployed, I believe it is high time to catch up on recipes I have been wanting to post. On with the regular program:

Before I met Mr. ABC Chef, my understanding of casual, non dim-sum Cantonese food was limited to some family favorites: salted fish and chicken fried rice (which Tim claims is not actually Cantonese, but also could be that his family never ate it), stir-fried rice noodles with beef, fried noodles with the sauce on top, and cha siu (barbecue pork). Since I started dating and got married, I’ve learned that siu yuk is often superior to cha siu, fermented olives and black beans are soo delicious, gai lan is one of the coolest leafy vegetables there is, and that no meal eaten with the Lee family at a restaurant is complete without ging-dou-gwat- (Beijing-style pork chops).

In the strong second place finisher, ranks Singapore noodles, a funky and unusual mix of curry powder and rice vermicelli, decorated with bits of egg, peppers, last night’s cha siu, crunchy bean sprouts, and other pleasant surprises.

These shrimp are far larger than shrimp you’d see in a typical restaurant order of Singapore noodles. But, if you’re going to be deveining them yourself, as I did, might as well go for the bigger ones, no?

xing zhou chao mi fen

星洲炒米粉

Singapore Noodles

Ingredients:

10 oz rice noodles / rice vermicelli

Canola oil

1/3 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 eggs

1/4 lb cha siu (roast pork) or ham, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 bell peppers,thinly sliced (green or red are common, but orange and yellow could do, too)

3-4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 lb mung bean sprouts

Salt to taste

Instructions:

1) Soak the rice vermicelli in room temperature water for at least 30 minutes, or until they are pliable and form a nice loop around your fingers.

3) Use some oil and scramble the eggs and smush them into tiny bits with your spatula. Transfer to a medium sized bowl.

4) If necessary, add a little more oil and then saute the shrimp until they have just turned pink, a sign that they are cooked. Transfer to the bowl with eggs.

5) Add cha siu (or ham), onions, and when the onions are softened, add the bell peppers. When the bell peppers have just softened, transfer to the bowl with eggs/shrimp.

6) Make sure there is enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, then add the curry powder and heat on medium high heat until it is fragrant, then add the noodles, scallions, and bean sprouts, followed by the items in your bowl from steps #3-5. Heat while constantly moving the noodles about, and adding extra oil if needed, to prevent rice noodles from desperately sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7) Season to taste with salt, then serve.

Notes:

There’s nothing more disappointing to me than Singapore Noodles that have barely any curry powder taste. So, please don’t be that guy(girl) who skimps on the curry! After all, that’s what makes it unique. Douse those noodles with curry powder!

Hi Jon, Thanks for trying out my recipe! Sorry I couldn’t tell you what type I used, because it’s been so long…maybe you can try S&B curry powder? Or, maybe you can just add more? Sorry, I wish I could be of more help!